How gaming can help kids with cerebral palsy
As children, we all enjoy playing, having fun, and making the most of every little game we play, be it with our friends and family or online. Play is an essential factor in one’s life and it helps children grow and
Why is play important?
Play is an important factor in a child’s early development. Playing helps young children’s brain develop and it helps them learn new skills that they will need when they’re older.
Even simple games like peek-a-boo or hide and seek can be an incentive for them. All games teach children about communication, behaviour, they help them develop their motor skills and even solve problems.
Playing stimulates brain development, sparks creative thinking, improves communication,vocabulary and language, and much more. It helps grow social abilities and strengthen relationships with parents, peers and caregivers. Parenting for brain talks about these in more detail in an article about play, and we think it’s beneficial that we know the importance of this element in our children’s lives.
How does play help a child develop?
In an early childhood education setting children should be able to nurture a love for learning through a variety of play experiences. Play helps stimulate the mind and boost creativity,and it is a key element in learning how to make friends, socialize, and deal with relationships. Without this crucial part of its development, the child can grow with certain impairments. Understanding why play is so important in their early years of life allows us to do more to help their growth.
How do video games help kids with cerebral palsy?
We’ve talked a bit about the importance of play, but how about video games? Video games are a favorite pastime for children, as they open up a world of possibilities. They can become whoever they want, their favorite hero, they can win battles and conquer their fears, virtually.
Serious games are games developed for education and various types of therapy, for children with various conditions. In the case of children with cerebral palsy, there hasn’t been much on the market related to the therapy through video games. However, we are currently in beta testing of Stasism, which is a complete social platform based on video game therapy. This is the first of its kind on the market and will bring a significant change in kids worldwide diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
What research says about video games for cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe various posture and movement disorders whose central nervous system is affected. The symptoms vary greatly, including motor and cognitive disabilities. Treating this condition usually involves therapy to improve motor impairments such as spasticity, muscle weakness and reduced mobility.
Rehabilitation programs involve occupational therapy, speech therapy and more. However, till recently, VR has been introduced, as well as video games. Children with cerebral palsy have daily therapy to do. But they miss having fun, and they want to benefit from the fun and happiness other children enjoy too. Therefore, in the past years, a lot of research was done around the area of video gaming, and the results have been astounding.
One example of the positive results that were achieved is the ‘’Using Free Internet Videogames in Upper Extremity Motor Training for Children with Cerebral Palsy’’ study, which appeared in the Behavioural Sciences journal. The conclusion was that the “the use of inexpensive hardware and software in conjunction with free Internet video games has the potential to be very motivating in helping to improve the upper extremity abilities of children with CP.”
This is what we are striving to achieve with Stasism as well. Through a vast library of games crafted by professional developers, we are offering a new world of motivation, joy and a new way of doing therapy.
Read more on our Blog and contact us if you have any questions.
Stasism is a revolutionary new social online platform with therapeutic physical video games made exclusively for people with Cerebral Palsy. The first of its kind, delivering a constant stream of new and exciting games, characters, features and much more, leading to a happier childhood. Discover how.
